During a “show and tell” recruitment event on Wednesday night, Neuralink, Elon Musk’s health technology company, provided advancements on its brain-implant technology.
Two of the company’s apps, according to Musk, would work to restore eyesight, even for those who were born blind, while a third application will concentrate on the motor cortex to help those with severed spinal cords regain “full bodily functionality.”
Experts advise treating the announcements with considerable caution.
During the occasion, Musk declared his intention to purchase one of the implants for himself. In as little as six months, Neuralink could start testing the motor cortex technology on people, according to Musk.
But we’ve filed, I believe, most of our documentation to the FDA, he added. “Obviously, we want to be exceedingly careful and ensure that it will operate well before putting a device in a human.”
The FDA has not evaluated any of Neuralink’s products, so the company’s announcements on Wednesday should be taken with a grain of salt, according to Xing Chen, an assistant professor in the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine’s Department of Ophthalmology.
Read more: redglitters.com/scientist-develop-a-wheelchair-that-operate-with-mind/
She told CNBC that Neurolink is a business “that doesn’t have to answer to shareholders.” “I don’t know how much oversight is involved, but I believe it’s very essential for the public to constantly remember that before something has been approved by the FDA, or any governmental regulatory agency, all claims need to be very, very carefully considered,” the author says.
Musk and a group of other scientists and engineers launched Neuralink in 2016. It works to create brain-computer interfaces (BCIs), which link the human brain to devices that can understand neural signals.
Without any supporting data, Musk claimed that Neuralink’s devices may one day allow for “superhuman cognition,” allow paraplegic people to control cellphones or robotic limbs with their minds, and “cure” autism and schizophrenia. Musk put tens of millions of his own money into the startup.
Musk stated in the company’s presentation on Wednesday that “as incredible as it may sound, we’re sure that it is possible to restore complete body functionality to someone who has a severed spinal cord.” This lofty objective was reiterated in the presentation.
Musk demonstrated video of a monkey playing “telepathic video games” that Neuralink initially unveiled more than a year ago. The monkey had a computer chip implanted in its skull. In order to enable quadriplegics with brain or spinal injuries to “control a computer mouse, or their phone, or really any device just by thinking,” the billionaire, who is also the CEO of Tesla and SpaceX and the new owner of Twitter, stated at the time that he wanted to implant Neuralink chips into them.
The Physician’s Committee for Responsible Medicine called on Musk on Wednesday to disclose information about experiments on monkeys that had led to internal bleeding, paralysis, chronic infections, seizures, declining psychological health, and death. Neuralink has come under fire for its alleged treatment of monkeys.
According to Anna Wexler, an assistant professor of medical ethics and health policy at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, Neuralink’s flamboyant presentations are rare for businesses in the medical devices sector. She said that it is dangerous to raise the hopes of those with severe disabilities, especially if they can suffer harm as the device is installed during surgery.
She remarked, “I think that hyping is really troubling from an ethical standpoint. Space or Twitter are one thing, but the stakes are higher when dealing with medical issues.
BCI expert Chen claimed that Neuralink’s implants would subject users to a very invasive procedure. In order to put the device into the brain tissue, medical professionals would need to drill a hole in the skull. But she does believe that some people would be willing to take the chance.
A number of illnesses, including epilepsy, Parkinson’s disease, and obsessive-compulsive disorder, have been successfully treated with brain implants, allowing patients to live better lives, according to Chen. Therefore, I believe there is precedent for doing this.
Wexler stated that she thought the decision would ultimately depend on the patient’s own risk-benefit analysis.
Many businesses have made significant progress in recent years employing BCIs for innovation; Neuralink is not the only one. Blackrock Neurotech is on target to release a BCI system in 2019, making it the first BCI to ever be made accessible for purchase. In order to start a clinical study for a BCI that is permanently implanted, Synchron acquired FDA approval in 2021. Paradromics is apparently preparing to start in-human testing in 2023.
Right here is the right blog for everyone who wishes to understand this topic. You realize so much its almost tough to argue with you (not that I personally will need to…HaHa). You certainly put a brand new spin on a subject which has been written about for ages. Great stuff, just great!
I used to be able to find good information from your articles.